Sarah Johnson

U.S. companies are so inundated with inventory that some are renting truck trailers to use for storage space, parking them on warehouse lots or behind storefronts to hold goods until a surge in imports is cleared from crowded distribution hubs.

Transportation equipment lessor Milestone Equipment Holdings launched a “mobile warehousing and storage” business this year to accommodate more customers seeking trailers to hold goods, many of them pulled in from China during 2018 to get ahead of impending tariffs.

The company said Home Depot Inc. and several other major retailers and manufacturers are using the service.

“It’s like a warehouse on wheels,” said Sarah Johnson, who heads up the new mobile storage business at Milestone. “We now think about our trailers as more of a real-estate alternative than just a trailer.”

ST. CHARLES, MO (December 12, 2018) – Milestone Equipment Holdings, a national leader in trailer and chassis leasing, is expanding its offerings to include a line of mobile warehousing and storage products. As the only national lessor with dedicated trailers for mobile storage applications, Milestone is positioned to be the industry leader for this kind of offering, with a fleet of 59,000+ trailers of varying specifications, sizes and vintages. This launch is the latest in Milestone’s recent expansions, which have included rapid growth of fleet size and additional locations over the past several years.

In preparation for the launch, Milestone developed a robust infrastructure that included the development of a 15-point quality inspection for the storage assets as well as operational mechanisms that can often deliver assets on site in as little as 24 to 48 hours. Milestone can also provide inexpensive trailer parking at one of its 25 branch locations across the United States if on-site storage space is a challenge.

Forward-Thinking

“We saw an opportunity to use our high-quality fleet to solve space constraints directly related to warehousing shortages and supply chain disruptions; providing expanded access and new solutions for our customers,” said Sarah Johnson, Executive Vice President of Mobile Warehousing and Storage for Milestone. “These forward- and reverse-logistic storage solutions address many of the demands driven by e-commerce, freeing up customers’ equipment. It’s exciting to be the only national single-source provider of this kind of trailer and storage network.”

The product line is comprised of trailers available for cartage, portable or fixed storage; with options that include 53’ or 48’ dry van trailers with roll-up or swing doors and air or spring ride. The services are supported by 25 branches across the country, with a team of dedicated customer service specialists. Milestone can provide flexible terms to address customers’ various volume and commitment needs. The company will also soon offer an enhanced online reservation request system and customer portal, both of which will be available in early 2019.

Opportunity

“In recent years, many companies have struggled with rapidly escalating logistics and warehousing costs, in part driven by the massive growth of e-commerce,” said Milestone CEO Don Clayton. “We worked closely with our customers to develop a product offering that delivers substantial cost savings and flexibility relative to traditional warehousing. Along with the significant investments we continue to make in late model equipment and the expansion of our branch network, we’re positioned to deliver an unparalleled range of solutions to our customers.”

About Milestone Equipment Holdings, LLC

With a combined fleet of more than 85,000 trailers, chassis and domestic containers, Milestone is one of the nation’s leading and most comprehensive transportation lessors. Founded in 1995 and Headquartered in St. Charles, MO, Milestone’s team of seasoned commercial, operational and customer support professionals provide a broad range of transportation solutions to customers, operating from 60+ locations nationwide.

Hurricane Season 2017

As hurricanes were making landfall in Texas and the Florida Keys, Sarah Johnson’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Disaster relief preparations were in motion and Milestone would play a crucial role in getting emergency goods to shelters and relief centers across the Southern US and the Eastern Seaboard.

“It was a mad scramble, but everybody was on deck to help,” says Johnson, Executive Vice President of Highway Operations. “Whether it was making phone calls around the clock, getting employees out in the field or giving up weekends and nights to make sure customers could access equipment – everyone played a crucial role in making all this happen. Which was pretty awesome. “

The Milestone team worked with carriers hauling for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deploy hundreds of trailers across the country (San Antonio, Houston, Atlanta, Tulsa, Memphis and York, Pennsylvania) to help deliver bottled water and other emergency supplies to evacuees.

In total, Milestone moved some 400 trailers in support of FEMA-related hurricane relief, which was one of the largest in scale the company participated in. Milestone is committed to serving communities around the nation, especially in times of extreme circumstances. This year’s hurricane season proved to be a true test for how local communities, states and the nation would come together to combat Mother Nature. Milestone is honored to have worked with FEMA to provide aid in the areas most affected and will continue to strive to be an industry leader in volunteering efforts.

Women in Trucking

Women from all facets of the transportation and logistics industry gathered together for the Accelerate! Conference & Expo hosted by Women in Trucking. Held November 6th to 8th in Kansas City, Missouri, this year’s conference focused on how gender diversity can have a positive impact on a woman’s career and her company’s success.

The event, which also celebrated Women in Trucking’s 10th anniversary, drew more than 500 attendees from across the country. This made it the largest group ever for the organization.

Accelerate! Conference & Expo

The three-day conference featured 30+ educational sessions. Topics ranged from speed mentoring and improving early stage driver turnover to creating happiness in the workplace and defining successful leadership. Attendees also had an opportunity to choose from four educational tracks: Leadership, Human Resources, Operations and Sales & Marketing.

The opening keynote address was given by author, screenwriter and attorney Valerie Alexander. Her presentation, “How Women Can Succeed in Trucking (Despite Having Female Brains),” examined a woman’s experience in the industry. It also provided practical tips on how to compete on a playing field designed by men.

Presentations

“Valerie is a dynamic speaker who dove into the basic reasons why women are great multitaskers, organizers and how we can take on multiple challenges,” says Novak. “Her presentation centered around ways women hold themselves back in the workplace and how to overcome that thought process.”

Novak herself participated as a sales coach/mentor and discussed her sales history followed by an informative Q&A. Topics discussed in her presentation included how to position yourself to grow with your company, recognizing when options for growth may not come in your current employment, and “must do’s” to promote yourself for higher opportunities (ex: dress, speak and behave professionally; know your topic better than anyone else in the room; take on projects that you can positively affect).

Conference Sessions

Some of the conference’s 30+ sessions offered included:

Steps Women Take to Become Successful Business Leaders

Best Practices in Female Driver Recruiting

Succeeding in a Male Dominated Industry

A Truck Tour (four different tractors were available to tour with a manufacturing rep available to discuss new innovations)

Elevating Your Game Through Personal Transformation

Tips to Eating Healthy on the Road

Several daily opportunities to network were available, including visiting vendor booths. Some vendors represented were:

In addition to the sessions, there were multiple speakers, networking lunches and evening receptions. The conference closed with drawings for vendor-provided prizes, the Woman of the Year Award (presented to Daphne Jefferson, Deputy Administrator, US Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) and a final presentation by Valerie Alexander.

Mission of Women in Trucking

Founded in 2007 to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, Women in Trucking is a non-profit organization that works to educate and raise awareness for women’s issues. This includes promoting career opportunities, improving working conditions for women, increasing the number of women drivers, as well as serving as a resource about women working in the transportation and logistics industry.

“In just a few short years, Women in Trucking has made significant strides for women nationwide,” says Sarah Johnson. “It’s great to see the organization grow and continue to support women’s endeavors in this exciting industry.”

The Beginning

While I was in college, I started working part-time for my dad’s trailer rental and leasing company, Personal Attention Leasing (PAL) which was based in St. Louis, Missouri. At the time, he had a rental fleet of 200 trailers. The summer I started, he added his second location in Kansas City, Kansas.

I always thought it was a temporary position, as I had different plans for my career path. I moved away to Chicago and Los Angeles while got my degree at but eventually settled back to the St. Louis area to help again with the business. We often joke that once you’re in transportation, you never get out!

Over the course of 10 years, Personal Attention Leasing grew through acquisitions of assets and companies to a fleet of 15,000 trailers and 12 locations. I held several roles in the company during those years. From inspecting equipment, processing invoices, human resource function, to helping with IT. Whatever it was, I would jump in and figure out how to make it happen, always putting the needs of the customer first. The growth of the company and my various roles gave me tremendous exposure to all aspects of the business, which I couldn’t have learned in any classroom.

Considering the fact that I worked for my father, I put pressure on myself to prove to my co-workers that I earned my position and that nothing was “given” to me. I often think back to how much I liked to play kickball at recess in the first grade. However, the boys would move in, thinking I couldn’t kick it very far. Then I would kick it over their heads. I simply wanted to get out on the kickball field and play (or win) the same game, the same way as my classmates. No special treatment.

Transitioning from Personal Attention Leasing to Milestone

In 2016 Personal Attention Leasing was rebranded to the parent company’s name of Milestone. The purpose was to represent all product lines to the market including intermodal equipment, containers, chassis and highway trailers. Today Milestone Equipment Holdings features 84,000 assets in total. As Executive Vice President of Branch Operations, I oversee our national network of 25+ locations in the Trailer Leasing division. Our highway office is also our St. Louis branch, so it keeps me in touch with the equipment, driver interactions and the core of our businesses.

With our growth trajectory, I have been fortunate enough to see the transportation industry in all types of businesses and applications. I enjoy learning the inner working of the retailers, manufacturers, distributors and trucking companies. I’m equally passionate about helping these industries to creatively solve problems.

My Perspective

I enjoy working with the employees in the field, making them successful and remaining diligent to serving our customer base.

Being a woman in trucking reminds me of being on that kickball field. I don’t want special treatment. Not in my favor or against me. I am knowledgeable about this business, I know equipment, I have ideas, I like building business partnerships, and I enjoy making a profit. I want to use the skills I have developed to compete in the game.

My goal is that someday, perhaps with my help, I will have more women on my “team” in the board room to help “kick the ball over their heads.”

Accelerate! Conference & Expo

From Monday, November 6th to Wednesday, November 8th, I will be joining transportation, logistics, and supply chain peers at the Accelerate! Conference & Expo, hosted by Women In Trucking. If you will be attending and would like to meet, please complete the form below.

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Women in Trucking

The Women In Trucking Association is a non-profit organization with the mission to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments, and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the industry. For nearly a decade, we’ve been focused on this clear mission. It’s supported by a passionate leadership team, highly engaged members, and committed sponsors and partners. We continue to build a strong community among our members (primarily business professionals and professional drivers) who believe in and support our mission.

Personal Service

While the growing strength of e-commerce has been putting pressure on the transportation industry, Milestone Trailer Leasing is committed to keeping pace with the changing market. Milestone is there for the long haul and last mile.

We are committed to partnering with customers to search for more efficient ways of leasing dry van trailers. We can look at a dedicated trailer pool, a minimum quantity capacity guarantee, or any customized trailer solution that allows flexibility in day-to-day business. While the industry continues to shift toward major growth in e-commerce, Milestone is committed to supporting the companies operating in that space and building a rental or lease package to match.

“Milestone can provide new trailers that are reliable on the road in the long-haul application,” says Sarah Johnson, Executive Vice President of Branch Operations at Milestone Trailer Leasing. “Our network of dedicated trailer vendors and after hours service providers gives assurance that we can provide maintenance support 24/7. We are dedicated to keep you moving and on time.”

The Long Haul

The long-haul freight model has changed dramatically over the past several years. For example, the size of driver pools has not kept up with the rise in freight volume. Isolation and long periods away from home associated with long distance trucking is often a deterrent for a new generation of drivers. Experts watching these trends predict truck fleets will adopt short-haul, regional and “last mile” routes – taking advantage of port expansions on the Gulf Coast to get drivers home sooner while also effectively managing freight deliveries.

The Last Mile

Milestone recognizes this is where Last Mile deliveries, when a package makes the final leg of its journey to the customer’s requested location, make that critical difference. We understand and do everything we can to find ways to get our customer’s goods where they need to go in the shortest amount of time possible.

“Milestone is supporting the wider transportation network; from manufacturer, to warehouse, to fulfillment center, making sure the last mile delivery works more quickly,” says Johnson. “We understand the last mile and the technological enhancements that may be on the horizon. These enhancements can range from drones to ground-based delivery bots. We remain committed to supporting the process and making it more efficient.”

Sarah Johnson, Executive Vice President of Branch Operations at Milestone Trailer Leasing, is driven to come to work to make sure her team is successful. “I love what I do,” she says. “I love to help them win. It’s very rewarding.” Johnson discusses how Milestone Trailer Leasing goes above and beyond when it comes to customer service, what the future holds for the company, and her biggest a-ha moment.

Milestone Background

It’s always been about focusing on the customer service aspect. We have trailers and our competitors have trailers, but what’s the differentiating factor? For us, it’s about how we better partner with our customers. That gets back to this idea of creativity and flexibility. For me it’s fun to do some creative problem solving; I like innovating in an industry that doesn’t often require innovation. That was the whole foundation of PAL, it was about being flexible. It started out as a local, then regional and now we’re at a national level.

A Day in the Life

Tell us about your role as Executive Vice President of Branch Operations at Milestone Trailer Leasing. What does a typical day look like?

My day is focused around supporting branch operations in 25+ locations across the US. This could be through structuring deals for customers, sourcing equipment, and general problem solving. It’s about being in constant communication. Setting up calls every day to review pricing and quantity of trailers; fleshing out details; arming the operations team with data to go out and execute with customers. I spend a lot of time traveling, meeting customers, evaluating the sales approach, helping them to understand their markets, and ultimately evaluating how we can be more successful. That success then drives the metrics, utilization, and overall profitability of the business which is the most important for everyone!

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

I’ve been in the industry a long time in a variety of functions. I’ve loved getting out over the past couple of years and building that customer rapport and getting on the frontline and watching those relationships grow. It’s very rewarding. It’s easy to sit behind a computer or on the phone and ask the team to do something, but getting out and doing it with them gives me firsthand knowledge of the interactions and how to help them through day to day issues.

Biggest a-ha moment?

Our most successful sales people have a strong rapport with their customers. They take their time to get to know their customer and build trust. They become a partner and not just a vendor. It’s not just about closing the sale, but having the rapport so that when the customer has a problem, they will pick up the phone and give us the chance to help them.

Providing a Great Experience

What’s the key to unparalleled customer service?

It’s finding employees who are driven to work hard and who are going to be of service. If the team is dedicated to building a successful business that translates into making sure the business is building strong customer relationships. You also have to be good at negotiating with customers; doing what’s in the best interest of Milestone while retaining the customer relationship. Therein lies the art.

What is key to a strong team?

There are many elements that make a strong team. A few worth noting are respect for one another, communication and having positive attitudes. We also have to collectively celebrate the wins (recognize failures) and respect each other’s roles on the team.

Challenges & Predicting the Future

What’s the biggest challenge facing your industry today?

Driver shortage and accessibility to drivers. In addition to new regulations with ELD (electronic logging device), the third thing is the shift to online retail. It’s changing the shape of transportation and who’s participating. It’s in its infancy, so there are a lot of efficiencies to be made on that front.

Continuing to identify gaps in the industry then where and how to fill them. Thinking outside the box when it comes to industry-wide solutions, as well as continuing to develop a strong team. Nothing is stagnate and we have to be ready to evolve. What’s next? It’s exciting to think about.

What keeps you up at night?

I worry about if I was supposed to call someone back and didn’t because the day got away from me or if I need to get an answer to someone so I’m not holding them up. I worry about the overall health of the business and if we’re doing all we can to make it successful. The other thing is making sure I’m delivering the message and everyone is on board and we’re pushing in the same direction. We use the analogy about rowing a boat, and how we need everyone rowing in the same direction. It affects the team if someone is rowing the other way.

Why Milestone?

We’re pushing on bigger accounts where we haven’t been able to before. We are partnering with bigger companies in a bigger way. It’s been organic growth; everyone pitches in to make it work and it’s rewarding.

What is a great customer story that you love to share about MTL?

There was a target account in Atlanta our sales rep was working on for over a year. For a year, she listened to me say, “Why aren’t we in there?” A year spent calling on them, working through several contacts and really cultivating a relationship with them. Today they have over 100 trailers with us. It speaks to the sales rep’s perseverance and drive to win. I love it!